30.  Greg Monroe- with the progression of Andre Drummond, there is no doubt that Monroe will be making the transition to the power forward spot in the very near future.  For now though, he is a center and a very good one.  Monroe can do a little bit of everything on the floor.  Even though his field goal percentage has dropped three straight years, Monroe can really score the ball.  He is also a really solid rebounder and a decent defender.  Last season, Monroe averaged 16 points, 9.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.3 steals a game.

29.  David West- West is one of the most underrated big men in the entire NBA and has been for a long time.  Last season was no different.  West was a huge part of the Pacers run to the Eastern Conference Finals last season, averaging 17.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and a block a game.

28.  Dirk Nowitzki- Dirk only played 53 games last year after coming back from injury and appeared to have lost a little something.  Even though he was a step slow, Nowitzki still managed to average 17.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists a game.

27.  David Lee- Lee was a huge reason the Warriors had a breakout season last year.  Lee killed it on the glass and was a beast around the rim on the offensive end of the floor.  He averaged 18.5 points, 11.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists a game.  For his efforts last season, Lee made it to his first All-Star game.

26.  Rajon Rondo- Rondo’s season ended abruptly in the middle of last season when he tore his ACL.  When the injury happened, Rondo was having one of his best seasons to date, averaging 13.7 points to go along with an NBA leading 11.1 assists, 5.6 rebounds and 1.8 steals.  With all the Celtics off-season moves Rondo will have to prove that he is ready to be the focal point of Boston’s future.  If he can’t do that he will be playing the rest his career somewhere else.  As a Boston fan, I hope that he can be the leader they need because he needs to finish his career in Celtics green.  If Rondo comes back healthy from his knee injury, he will jump back up this list in quick fashion.

25.  Damian Lillard- the Rookie of the Year is poised to have another great season in Portland.  Lillard exploded on the scene from day one last season and never slowed down.  Lillard led the NBA in minutes and finished with averages of 19 points, 6.5 assists, 3.1 rebounds and almost a steal a game.  Those numbers are sure to improve as Lillard plays his second year.

24.  Al Horford- Horford had a great bounce back season after missing most of 2011-12 due to injury.  He averaged 17.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.1 blocks a game.  This season should be even brighter now that he doesn’t have to contend with the like of Josh Smith for touches.

23.  Derrick Rose- Rose was close to the top of this list just a year ago before a freak knee injury in the 2012 playoffs changed all that.  Rose missed all of last season rehabbing and was criticized for not getting back on the court in a timely manner.  Even with that said, Rose still deserves to be on this list.  He was the MVP of the league in 2011 and is still just 24 years old.  There is no doubt that will Rose will bounce back this year now that he is totally healthy.

22.  Deron Williams- Williams has been sliding ever since he was traded to the Nets because of an ailing wrist, but he is still a great point guard.  Even though he struggled mightily with his outside shot, Williams still managed to average 18.9 points, to go along with 7.7 assists, 3 rebounds and a steal a game.  Now that his wrist is 100 percent, Williams should be on track for a huge year.  With the additions of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry, Williams finally has the chance to be the leader of a championship caliber team.

21.  Paul George- It will be very interesting to see how George fares this season with the return of Danny Granger to the Pacers line up.  With Granger sidelined all but 5 games last season, George became the focal point of the Indiana Offense and led the Pacers to the Eastern Conference Finals.  As a first time All-Star, George averaged 17.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.8 steals a game.